Visual guide to law enforcement and security equipment Guidelines governing the use of force by law enforcement officials: The UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement states that “law enforcement officials may use force only when strictly necessary and to the extent required for the performance of their duty.” 13. The UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials expands on the UN Code of Conduct, stating that use of force by law enforcement officials should be governed by clear, human rights-compliant rules and regulations. Law enforcement officials should have access to a range of different weapons (including less lethal options) for use in appropriate situations, and should use non-violent methods whenever possible. Force and firearms should only be used if other means are ineffective. The Basic Principles also address the manufacture and selection of equipment, noting, for example, that the development and deployment of launched kinetic impact weapons should be carefully evaluated and controlled. 14 Various national, international, and regional bodies have produced additional resources on the use of force by law enforcement officials. Several of these include human rights-based guidance on a range of equipment addressed in this Guide. The resources include: • • • • • UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Resources book on the use of Force and Firearms in Law Enforcement 15 OHCHR UN Human Rights Guidance on Less-Lethal Weapons in Law Enforcement 16 Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe/Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) Human Rights Handbook on Policing Assemblies 17 OSCE/ODIHR and The European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) Guidelines on Freedom of Peaceful Assembly 18 OSCE/ODIHR Handbook on Monitoring Freedom of Peaceful Assembly 19 The key monitoring bodies referred to throughout this Guide include: The UN Committee Against Torture (CAT) monitors the implementation of the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and scrutinises reports from UN Member States on their implementation of the Convention. 20 The UN Subcommittee on the Prevention Torture (SPT) conducts visits to places of detention in States who are party to the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT) and UN General Assembly, Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials, 17 December 1979, A/RES/34/169, Article 3. 13 UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner (OHCHR), Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, 7 September 1990. 14 15 UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and OHCHR, Resource book on the use of force and firearms in law enforcement, 2017. 16 OHCHR, UN Human Rights Guidance on Less-Lethal Weapons in Law Enforcement, 2020. Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe - Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR), Human rights handbook on policing assemblies, 2016. 17 18 European Commission for Democracy Through Law (Venice Commission) and OSCE/ODIHR, Guidelines on freedom of peaceful assembly, (3rd edition), 8 July 2019, CDL-AD (2019)017. 19 OSCE/ODIHR, Handbook on monitoring freedom of peaceful assembly (2nd edition), 2020. 20 https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CAT/Pages/CATIntro.aspx. 4